Repayment
by Curious Archer
Summary: After helping to stop Mother Gothel from destroying the world, Zeus remedies a mistake he made many years ago.


This is a massive thank you to a sweet and wonderfully kind friend who did something really amazing for me. It's an OutlawQueen fic with a small bit of Alice attention (and mention of Alice and Robyn - spelt with a Y to save confusing between her and her dad lol). So it's not my usual story but I enjoyed writing it all the same! And once again MASSIVE BIG HUGE thank you to my friend! She's awesome!

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"I can feel you thinking from all the way over here…"

Zeus looked over just as Hera stepped up beside him, reaching to gently rest her arms around his shoulders. Her soft strawberry blonde hair tickled the side of his face and he could smell all the sweet fragrances that naturally came from her, bringing out an instinctive smile as he looked up at her face. Out of all the women – goddesses and human – that Zeus had spent time with during his long life, Hera was the one who always managed to make him smile, to remind him of the light past the darkness.

When his brother betrayed them all and he was forced to banish him to the Underworld, it had been Hera who had offered her own strength to help him stand and face the rest of his family. And when their son had been thrown to Earth, forced to prove himself before he could rejoin them, it had, surprisingly, been Hera who offered him comfort and assurance that they would see Hercules again. Even now when she didn't know what disturbed him, she offered an embrace that lifted the weight only she could see leaning on him.

"It must be very intense for you to remain so quiet." Hera noted, running her hand gently over his chest through the material of his white robe. "Speak to me, dear husband. Share your worries."

"It's not worries, exactly." Zeus admitted, turning back to stare down at the reflection in his water bath. It was like a human bird feeder, only much larger and there were never any kind of animal creatures within sight of its clear surface searching for a drink.

"Then what is it?" Hera asked. She could have always looked into the water herself, but made a point of respectfully waiting for Zeus to invite her to – despite him telling her many times already that she needn't wait for that.

"Gothel. She was defeated." Zeus explained quietly.

"Gothel?" Hera blinked. She ached to have a peek but forcibly held herself back, though couldn't resist tightening her grip on Zeus' shoulder slightly.

"Look for yourself." Zeus said, waving his hand at the water.

Hera practically threw herself forward, leaning over and looking into the water. Sure enough, it replayed the image of Gothel's demise at the hands of a group of humans, some of whom were the same humans responsible for Hades demise. The woman had been seconds away from destroying the Earth and taking it over for her own cruel design, crushing everything that all those before her had worked for – Zeus included. Now, she stood in tree form, providing nothing more than shade and a pleasant image for the unsuspecting citizens of the city.

Irony. Thy name was justice.

"These humans are proving to be very helpful." Hera turned and gave Zeus a small cheeky smile. "Perhaps we should promote them to demi-god status."

Zeus didn't smile. He was still too busy in his thought. "They have been a great help. First Hades, my brother, and now Gothel. She may be a great distant relative now, but she's still a relative."

"I was joking, my husband. And I hardly think you can call a great, great, great, niece's half sister a relative." Hera noted.

"Blood is blood. Her blood may have grown thin over time, but she was my responsibility. I should have dealt with her sooner, maybe helped her in her grief after her mother's murder." Zeus mused.

"Dear husband," Hera sighed, walking back over to re-drape her arms over his shoulders. "You need to stop taking all of this onto yourself. You spend nearly every day balancing the light and dark, fighting to keep the true evils away from all the many worlds bellow. It's understandable if an occasional trouble gets through. And we've seen clearly that the humans can more than take care of themselves! Gothel's defeat is the best proof of that!" She paused, looking back towards the water.

"Not quite." Zeus admitted.

"What do you mean?" Hera asked.

"The one to defeat Gothel. Finally, I mean, turning her into a tree. She's not completely human." Zeus looked up to his wife. "She's her daughter. A half breed being, part god and part human."

"Oh." Hera blinked, then shrugged. "Guess we don't have to worry about making her a demi-god."

"But we should repay her." Zeus said. "She did us a great service, much like Killian Jones before her."

"Well she doesn't have much need for a second life." Hera shrugged. "Do you have something else in mind?"

"I'm not sure. The girl is a mystery. From what I've seen, she has everything she could wish. Reunited with her father. True love. A home with all her family and friends together. She's quite content." Zeus sighed.

Hera gave a small smile, slapping his shoulder lightly. "You could always… Ask her."

Zeus turned sharply and looked at her in shock, causing her to laugh brightly.

"Oh dear husband. You'll find humans quite chatty if you give them an invitation." Hera beamed. "Send the girl a telepathic message, or bring her here even. She's has god blood in her veins, so that shouldn't be a problem. And when she's here, don't forget to thank her for what she's done and offer her a drink before plowing into the generous offers."

***O*U*A*T***

One minute Alice was brushing her teeth, preparing to head to her bed where Robyn was already waiting for her, the next she felt light headed – but in that pleasant way like she could physically lift off the ground and fly. The lights around her seemed to brighten, and in the time that it took Alice to leave over and rinse her mouth out and straighten up again, the back wall behind her had disappeared, along with the bath, shower and medicine cabinet. Instead, there was a large stretching stairway that seemed to be made of literal clouds with an occasional gold steam stretching down like a handrail beside it.

Alice's mouth dropped open, a sliver of water drooling down her chin and dropping into the sink as her eyes widened. She was sure she was hallucinating it all, or that the mirror had fogged up and the reflection creating the very vivid image behind her, when a woman appeared coming down the steps. She was very beautiful but thankfully in a very human looking way. If she hadn't been, Alice might have bolted out the room and cried for Robyn to get her arrows loaded. Instead, she stayed where she was, still confusingly stunned enough to simply turn around and face the stairs of cloud properly.

"Alice Jones." The woman smiled. "I am Hera. I'd like to invite you to talk with my husband."

"Your…" Alice blinked.

"Husband. Yes." Hera smiled. "You don't have to come. We'd just like to offer you something in return for your help."

"I… Helped…?" Alice repeated.

"In stopping Gothel." Hera explained.

"Oh." Alice said, still standing shell shocked.

After a moment that passed with Alice unmoving, Hera stepped slightly to the side and waved her hand. "Dear? Are you coming?"

Alice blinked and looked towards the door of the other room where Robyn was waiting.

"It will only take a minute. Your fiancé will not even notice your absence, I promise." Hera explained. "We would invite her with you, but I'm afraid she is physically unable to enter Olympus the way you are."

"Olympus?" Alice gaped.

"Dear? I don't mean to rush you, but the sooner we talk, the sooner you can retire to your bedroom." Hera explained, holding out her hand. "Come along."

Alice, still feeling light headed and stunned, somehow found the strength to step forward and take the offered hand. She allowed Hera to pull her up, taking her first step onto the cloud. It felt spongy, but no more than an extra thick carpet, and the higher Alice climbed, the warmer the air became with a soft gentle breeze in a very comforting way, with a sweet unidentifiable smell filling her senses. Everything was bright and clear, gleaming with white clouds or golden silk. It made Hera's bright glittering pink dress stand out and more than once Alice found her eyes turning to gawp at her instead of the heavenly scenery around her. Not that Hera seemed to mind. She simply kept a calm smile on her face, holding Alice's hand during the entire ascend upwards.

When they reached the top step, they opened up into a clear space. It was like a white void with occasional pillars standing and stretching as tall as the sky. The floor was as white as the rest of the space, except for a stretch of water like a swimming pool with a series of large chairs lining one side of it. Sitting on one of those chairs was a skinny young man who looked like someone Alice might pass in the street back in Hyperion Heights. Definitely not a great deity, but then neither was his pretty wife, yet she had pulled Alice from her bathroom up a set of stairs made of cloud.

"Alice." Zeus stood, walking over to her with a gentle smile. "Thank you for coming."

"…" Alice's mouth was open, but no words formed.

"I understand this can be quite overwhelming for you. You've lived a very human life. So come, sit by the water until you're ready." Zeus offered.

Hera, still holding Alice's hand, guided her towards the water edge. Without thinking, Alice dropped onto her knees as soon as she was beside it and found herself transfixed, staring straight at the water as her mind caught up with the rest of her. She couldn't believe this was happening, and at the same time what else could it be if not real. It was then, as she finally settled and felt like she could think clearly, that she noticed there were faded images in the surface of the water.

Alice frowned, tilting her head slightly before shifting to lean forward on her knees and look down at the images properly. It only took a moment of her concentrating before the images seemed to clear themselves up and she found herself looking down at a picture as clear as if she was in it. And she recognized it immediately.

She saw Gothel's tree, standing exactly where she had left it. Only now it was with Regina and Henry making a small fence around its base, putting an old fashion looking plaque up on the white wooden stand. Alice had asked them to do it for her. She didn't want the tree being cut down by unknown people for whatever reason. A couple of forged paper works and a fake plaque dedicating the park to a unnamed fallen hero meant that at the very least it wouldn't be taken without proper notice before hand.

"You have a kind soul, Alice." Zeus said, moving and taking a seat beside her. "Most people wouldn't have cared so much for the same person who caused them such great pain in life."

"It wasn't completely her fault." Alice mumbled. "She had a hard life."

Zeus bit back the point that many people had hard lives. Instead he smiled at her softly and nodded his head. "Did you know Gothel is a distant relative of mine?"

Alice looked up sharply. "No."

"Very distant, but a relative none the less." Zeus had assumed the humans would have guessed at some point. Was it really that surprising that Mother Nature had a connection to the other Gods of legend? "I feel I should have dealt with her sooner but…" Zeus trailed off and sighed.

"It's okay." Alice said instantly. "We handled her."

"_You_ handled her." Zeus noted. "And I'd like to repay you for it."

"Repay me?" Alice blinked.

"You handled something that was my responsibility." Zeus explained simply. "So is there anything you would like in return?"

"Well, um… Like what?" Alice asked.

Zeus and Hera shared a small chuckle. "Anything, dear." Hera said, moving to crouch on Alice's other side. "Just name your request."

"Uh… I don't really… Well I don't want anything." Alice shrugged.

"Nothing?" Zeus pressed.

"Well… No I mean…" Alice hesitated, looking back into the water. "I'm pretty happy with my life now." She paused, watching her friends finish up. "Could I ask… For something for someone else?"

"Of course." Zeus said instantly. "I can achieve anything you can think of."

"How about… Bringing back the dead?" Alice asked timidly.

***O*U*A*T***

While Regina enjoyed her role, and took pride in being Queen, that didn't mean the tasks didn't sometimes take their toll on her. Days like today, where she had dozens of people come to her with complaints, most of which were petty and ridiculous, left her feeling tired and weak. She wanted to return to her home, draw a hot bath and soak her aching muscles until she no longer felt like she was going to snap just by standing. Maybe she'd put on a movie or read a nice book before going to bed. If it weren't so late, she would have called Henry – she always liked having a nice chat and catching up with him. They saw each other plenty but it still felt like not enough since everyone settled into their new routinely lives.

Walking through the door, Regina was immediately greeted with a delightful smell. It was a hot meal, like a roast freshly cooked and waiting for her. With a slight frown, Regina took off her coat and hung it on the stand beside the door. There were a select few people who had keys to Regina's home, none of whom were show up and cook dinner without any kind of announcement beforehand. Her sister was too busy with her new husband, her son had to go to bed early each night in order to get up and take his daughter to school, her niece was spending every free second planning for her wedding, and the only people left – Snow and Emma – only used their keys for emergencies.

Which begged the question; who had broken in to make a meal this late at night?

Regina, never one afraid of the unknown, strode straight down the hallway to the kitchen. Her heels clicking along the way, warning her intruder of her arrival long before she stepped through the door and onto the tiled floor.

The kitchen was immaculately cleaned, and yet it had clearly been used. Pots and pans were drying on the side by the sink and there was still a very light trail of stream running along the edges of the window nearly the cooker.

Regina frowned when something caught her eye. It was the slight flicker of lights. Regina turned, looking towards the dining room where the door was partly ajar. She couldn't see much from the angle she was at, but she could just about catch sight of a single candle sat on the counter edge in a silver holder.

Okay, this was getting strange. Regina drifted over to the door and cautiously pushed it open, stepping inside. And was immediately caught off guard once more.

The whole dining room was lined with candles. They were mismatched with some being tall, some fat, some short and practically useless, in mismatched candle holders of equally different colours and sizes. But there were dozens of them, scattered throughout the room and surrounding the table that sat in the centre on the posh ruby rug. All the chairs had been removed save for two which were settled on the corner as close as they could be to one another. And in front of the two chairs were two thick plates of gorgeous looking food, fresh from the oven and dripping with a shiny glaze that made them look like they were straight from a cooking catalogue. Along with the food, there were two tall glasses of wine sat beside them, shining a bright red shade that reflected the candle light nicely. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Regina, both confused and amazed, stepped into the room and walked up to one of the chairs. She touched the back support in dreamily fascination and blinked down at the meal. She reached her hand down and touched one of the silver forks sat by its side, like she was checking that it really was real, and at the same time tried to ignore the way her mouth instantly watered, resisting the urge to gulp like a starved child.

"M'lady."

Regina froze with her fingers trailing halfway down the fork. Her whole body flushed at the sound of that familiar voice and she slowly lifted her head. She almost didn't want to turn around, afraid it was in her head and she was about to be greeted with the disappointment of nothing. But when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her body nearly collapsed at the touch. Shutting her eyes, she reached up and placed her own fingers over the top of his, stroking the knuckles gently.

"Take a seat." He said.

"No." Regina whispered.

He chuckled. "Is there a particular reason as to why not?"

Regina wet her lips. "Because… If I do then you might disappear."

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised.

Regina, sucking in a breath and preparing for disappointment, turned to face him. But to her amazement, he didn't disappear, even after his hand let go of her shoulder. "Robin…" She breathed.

"Hello, Regina." Robin smiled.

He looked exactly like he did in the last moment she had seen him. When she had really seen him, not just when she had spoken with him in her dream. Instead, he looked like he did back in that moment right before they confronted Hades. Right down to the soft, loving smile he wore on his face when looking at her.

"Oh… God… Robin…" Regina gasped, her legs shaking unsteadily.

"Easy," Robin said, catching her when he knees gave way and guiding her into the chair.

"It's you…" Regina whispered, staring at him as he moved to sit beside her, scooting the chair as close as he could get it.

"Do you know anyone else with this face?" He grinned.

Regina raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to say something about the Wish Realm Robin but stopped herself. That was a conversation for another time. For now she just wanted to take in this moment of him – the real him – being here. Part of her doubt tried to crawl in and tell her to be suspicious of his sudden arrival but she tossed that part aside just as quickly as it came. She knew, instinctively, magically, lovingly, whatever you wanted to call it, that this was her Robin.

"How?" Regina croaked.

"Let's just say… Zeus played a hand in things." Robin explained, picking up her glass and holding it out to her.

"Zeus… Oh… Oh…" Regina repeated, still breathless.

"Here." Robin held the glass closer to her. "Have a drink."

Regina took the glass and brought it to her lips, never taking her eyes off of his face as she did. Only to change her mind a second later. Instead she turned and practically slammed the glass back onto the table. She nearly knocked it over her meal but didn't care. She was too busy reaching up, grabbing Robin's jacket and leaning towards him. Robin moved at the same time, placing his hands on her hips and closing the gap until their lips met.

The kiss was long and intense. They clung onto each other like they were afraid to let go, tightening their holds on each other's bodies and clothes until they were sure to leave passionate bruises behind but neither cared. They made the moment last for as long as possible until finally they had to break the kiss to take sharp harsh breaths. Regina would have gladly kept going, even if it meant passing out so long as she could pass out in his arms. Instead she settled for leaning into him, still clinging on as she breathed in the natural forest like smell that seemed to have stained his skin, burying her face into the side of his neck and enjoying the way the stubble on his chin scratched her forehead.

"I can't believe it." Regina breathed, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. "This is for real."

"It is." Robin promised, smiling as he reached up and gently stroked a strand of hair from her face.

"You're not going to disappear by morning?" Regina whispered.

Robin took Regina's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her fingers. "I will never disappear from your side ever again."

Regina nearly burst into tears. Instead she closed the distance again and kissed him once more, trailing the kisses over his face and then onto the hands still holding hers before moving back up to his lips again. She was leaning so close to him that she was practically falling out of her chair and onto his lap. And in return, Robin shifted so he was sat on the edge of his chair, eventually pressing their foreheads together and giving her hands another soft kiss each.

"Now…" Robin said, smiling at her. "Let's not let this meal go to waste."

Regina shook her head. "Forget the meal." She grabbed him and pulled him in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and accidentally dragging him onto the floor. But despite hitting the ground surprisingly hard, neither pulled away from each other nor broke their tight embrace. They had been waiting far too long for this moment to even waste a second of it on food.

***O*U*A*T***

Regina and Robin spent the entire of the next day together in the house, not doing much more than reconnecting, emotionally, mentally and physically. Regina put off all her work and cancelled all the events she had planned, claiming she needed a personal day for a family emergency. And it wasn't a strict lie if you used certain terms loosely, like 'family' and 'emergency'.

By the end of the week, Regina had never felt more at peace or content. Being accepted by the town as The Good Queen had been everything she didn't even know she needed, but that didn't change the fact that she missed Robin every single day and second he was gone. And finally having him back, after all this time… Even after the first night together when morning rolled around, Regina was afraid that she was going to wake up to find it had all been a wonderful dream, much like it had been before. But when the sun rose and she saw he was still in the bed beside her, it was like a wave of relief and happiness swooping down over and over again. That very morning Regina hadn't been able to resist waking him with a series of kisses, simply because she couldn't wait for him to come to on his own.

"So, how shall we announce your return to everyone?" Regina asked as Robin fed her a small cut of the pancakes they had made together that morning.

"I imagine a walk down town will do the job nicely." Robin chuckled.

"Oh no, we need a big entrance! How about I throw a party? We can rent the town hall and tell everyone it's a charity event or someone's birthday or something. And then you step in and surprise everyone!" Regina beamed.

"Regina," Robin placed a hand over her wrist. "I don't need anything flashy or fancy. I just want to go down the street, pick up my daughter and find my son and just be with the people I really care about."

During the night, Robin had explained to her that, when he had come back, it was straight into Alice and Robyn's home. It turned out, his second shot at life was entirely thanks to Alice and he had spent the whole day with the two of them, re-introducing himself to his daughter and formally introducing himself to his soon to be daughter in law. He'd learned as much as he could in a single morning and early afternoon before the girls had pointed him in the direction of Regina's home. They had also offered to help him set up his romantic dinner but Robin had wanted to do that by himself.

With all that in mind, Regina realized he hadn't had a chance to catch up with anyone else. He'd seen his daughter and his soul mate but not his son and Merry Men. No wonder he wanted the chance to have a quiet time with the two of them. In fact Regina found herself smiling and nodding as she thought it over. It had been quite some time since she had Robin back. She forgot that he was much more down to Earth than she was. Of course he would prefer a quiet get together with his close family rather than a big Ball with half a dozen strangers.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked softly.

"Yes." Regina smiled. "I'm just happy to have you back. I have missed you."

"Even with my less than regal ways?" Robin chuckled.

"It's what I love most about you." Regina whispered. "And a walk down the street to visit Robyn and Roland sounds perfect." She fed him a slice of breakfast. "So shall we pick up Robyn on the way?"

"Well, we can do some planning beforehand." Robin chuckled. "What say we call Robyn and she and Alice can head down to the Merry Men ahead of us."

Regina smiled and nodded. "I'll get her to tell Roland that I want a day out with my two favourite Hood's." She hesitated and her smile stretched. "Or well, my two favourite Junior Hood's."

"Perfect." Robin agreed, his own grin growing as well. "I can't wait to see them together."

"Oh you're gonna be so proud. You've seen Robyn but not in action. She's kept up your example better than any of the Merry Men. I mean she's really lived up to having your name. And Alice is so sweet and talented. Robyn really couldn't have picked anyone better to settle down with. As for Roland. Oh God, Robin. He's grown so much. You won't recognize him but… You are going to be so proud of the strong and brave man he is. They're both so…" Regina failed for words and just smiled at him. "You're going to be so proud."

Robin chuckled and leaned forward, kissing Regina softly. He could still taste some left over syrup from the pancakes on her lips. "I already am." He looked deeply into her eyes. "This really is a fresh start, Regina."

Regina beamed at him. "The happiest of beginnings."


End file.
